The Social Impact of Alcohol abuse amongst teenagers in UK

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Academic Skills & Studying with Confidence – 3113

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Keywords: Risk of dependence and harmful drinking in teenage years; Impact on physiological development; Risky sexual behaviours; Impact on education attainment; Injuries, violence, death, and social disorders.

Contents

Introduction. 3

Literature review. 3

Risk of dependence and harmful drinking in adulthood. 3

Impact on physiological development 4

Risky sexual behaviours. 4

Impact on education attainment 4

Injuries, violence, death, and social disorders. 5

Conclusion. 5

References. 6

Introduction

This study has literature results of social impacts resulting from alcohol abuse among teenagers. Social impacts are for a lengthy period and have not had a complete definition. Still, it can be summed as effects seen on people or communities because of action, such as teenage alcohol abuse. Therefore it is prudent to assess these impacts of abusing alcohol while underage and figure out why young people engage in alcohol abuse. The UK is among the countries where alcohol abuse among young people is prevalent, although being illegal for a person under the age of 18 years to use any alcoholic drinks, with the exception of teenagers aged 16-17 years who can take alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, or cider but under the watch of an adult and especially while taking meals (Inside Government, Ministry of Justice, 2013). Alcohol abuse is known to have a wide range of negative impacts among its users, especially young people. To highlight some of these impacts, I will be reviewing earlier studies on the impacts of alcohol abuse among teenagers.

Literature review

Several studies have been done by different scholars to find out the different impacts of underage abuse of alcohol. There is a massive trend of teenagers having the urge to take drink at a tender age having started to taste independence. When these young people whose brains are still under development stage starts to abuse alcohol trying to find out new things, they observe from older generation who are engaged in alcohol consumption. When this happens, several impacts are to be expected. Therefore, the need to find solutions to cap this trend.

Risk of dependence and harmful drinking in adulthood

An analysis of data from National Epidemiologic Survey was done by Scientists from Boston University, School of Public Health together and Youth Alcohol Prevention Centre to determine conditions related with alcohol usage by people aged 18 years and above. The study was aimed at understanding teenage life of adults who are regular alcohol takers. It involved also involved face to face interviews where respondents were asked when they started to drink. It was found that those who are currently highly dependent on alcohol started drinking alcohol at a tender age. It was also noted that apart from being highly dependent on alcohol they also drink to intoxication. Beginning age for drinking was found to be a major factor leading to alcohol dependence as it was proven that those who started to drink before reaching 14 years, 47 percent developed alcohol dependence while those who began alcohol consumption after 21 years only 9 % developed alcohol dependence. Given a child delays alcohol drinking each year it has been estimated that there is a chance of reduction in becoming alcohol dependent by 9–21% (Foxcroft et al, 2003). Therefore, it can be generalized that early alcohol drinking at tender ages leads to more drinking in adulthood.

Impact on physiological development

Alcohol abuse by teenagers has also been associated with several physiological developmental problems. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism did a study and found out so. Alcohol usage during adolescence leads to reduction in levels of important hormones, which include oestrogen in girls and testosterone in boys, these hormones are key to sexual development. Reduction in levels of these hormones will delay puberty. Another study done has shown that alcohol being natural sleep disrupter leads to reduction in levels of growth hormone which helps in muscle building, stimulation of growth and development of cells, and optimizing growth of bone. Therefore, alcohol abuse at tender age will affect successful growth to maturity enormously. The first study however has failed to detail how alcohol consumption leads to reduction in levels of hormones.

Risky sexual behaviours

A survey involving 11 students from private and government schools who participated in the 2008 International Youth Development Study (IYDS). The study was done to find out the relationship between sexual behaviour and excessive alcohol abuse during teenage period. From the results it was established that more than half of the students had abused alcohol within the past two weeks, 5 of the students had engaged in sex during the past one year while 26% of them reported that during the last one year had been forced by friends to drink alcohol. Of those who did sex 40% of them participated in unprotected sex and later regretted doing sex because they were under influence of alcohol. The students who were engaged in alcohol abuse in the last two weeks were found to have done so in parties which had both boys and girls who are sexually active; these may lead to having more than one sexual partner who at times might be strangers. Therefore, it was therefore concluded that alcohol abuse may lead to teenagers engaging in risky sexual acts which may result in early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections.

Impact on education attainment

A study by (Chatterji & De Simone, 2005) was aimed at understanding the relationship between high school grades and alcohol abuse. It was established that alcohol abuse by teenagers during schooling age affects their levels of grades, years of schooling and others even dropped out of school. The reason being underage alcohol takers are vulnerable to the prompt outcomes of alcohol usage. These outcomes include: hangovers, alcohol poisoning, blackouts, Neurocognitive defects, Neurodegeneration, and impaired functionality of the brain (Zeigler et al., 2004). Another research on a British cohort of people born in 1958 found out that alcohol abuse during adolescence among teen boys especially those from low socio-economic backgrounds significantly reduces the likelihood of the abusers achieving postsecondary qualifications. Moreover, another study was conducted among two set of twins, one which started underage drinking and another which never took alcohol until after age of 8 year and it was found out that those who drink at underage had lower educational accomplishment compared with their co-twins who did not take alcohol at underage (Zucker et al, 2008). These findings are in order with other studies that have found that alcohol abuse among teenagers has huge impacts on education accomplishment.

Injuries, violence, death, and social disorders

As it was established in the annual report of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which detailed all the acts causing traffic accidents in the United States (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2002a). It was established that majority of traffic accidents involving underage drivers were as result of drunk driving. Another research by (Wechsler, 1996; Wechsler et al., 2001a, 2001b, 2001c), showed that college students were being affected significantly and negatively by peer’s drinking spree. They reported that their peers after being drunk assaulted them, damaged their property, and being sexually preyed on. Moreover, another research by (Brown and Tapert, 2004) suggested that teenage alcohol abuse inflicted permanent brain damage to a developing brain. The study also added that underage drinking affected society immensely through loss of lives, loss of productivity and increase in healthcare cost. All the findings from the two studies are consistent with general assumptions from the society

Conclusion

As it has been highlighted in the several studies done on impacts of underage drinking that teenagers who abuse alcohol are likely to experience several negative social impacts in their daily life and during adulthood. Therefore, teenage alcohol abuse is an enduring problem that must be capped for the sake of future generation. More research is called for in the areas that have been inadequately been explored, including study on how alcohol impacts brain development, study on policy measures to control alcohol usage, internal possession laws, study on liabilities faced by society, and how parents and family can helpful in curbing underage drinking. Additionally studies that were seeking to understand how alcohol usage during schooling affects learning encountered two problems. First, they could be incidence of inaccurate data as the respondents reported gave self-report of their grades which were important in measuring levels of learning. This could therefore lead in inaccurate results. Secondly, researchers depended on cross-sectional data which could be an outcome of individual heterogeneity or questionable instrumental variables hence biased results. All these additional studies must be done to answer the pending issues and hence develop a plan and measures of combating these impacts.

References

Brown, S.A. and Tapert, SF, 2004. Adolescence and the trajectory of alcohol use: basic to clinical studies. In Adolescent Brain Development: Vulnerabilities and Opportunities, Sep 2003, New York, NY, US; New York Academy of Sciences.

Burnett-Zeigler, I., Ilgen, M., Valenstein, M., Zivin, K., Gorman, L., Blow, A., Duffy, S. and Chermack, S., 2011. Prevalence and correlates of alcohol misuse among returning Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. Addictive behaviours, 36(8), pp.801-806.

Chatterji, P. and DeSimone, J., 2005. Adolescent drinking and high school dropout (No. w11337). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Gunzerath, L., Faden, V., Zakhari, S. and Warren, K., 2004. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism report on moderate drinking. Alcoholism: Clinical and experimental research, 28(6), pp.829-847.

Foxcroft, D.R., Ireland, D., Lister‐Sharp, D.J., Lowe, G. and Breen, R., 2003. Longer‐term primary prevention for alcohol misuse in young people: a systematic review. Addiction, 98(4), pp.397-411.

Hasin, D.S., Goodwin, R.D., Stinson, F.S. and Grant, B.F., 2005. Epidemiology of major depressive disorder: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcoholism and Related Conditions. Archives of general psychiatry, 62(10), pp.1097-1106.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2001. Traffic safety facts 2001: Alcohol. DOT HS, 809, p.470.

Perkins, H.W. and Wechsler, H., 1996. Variation in perceived college drinking norms and its impact on alcohol abuse: A nationwide study. Journal of Drug Issues, 26(4), pp.961-974.

Wechsler, H., Lee, J.E., Kuo, M., Seibring, M., Nelson, T.F. and Lee, H., 2002. Trends in college binge drinking during a period of increased prevention efforts: Findings from 4 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study surveys: 1993–2001. Journal of American college health, 50(5), pp.203-217.

Zucker, R.A., Donovan, J.E., Masten, A.S., Mattson, M.E., and Moss, H.B., 2008. Early developmental processes and the continuity of risk for underage drinking and problem drinking. Paediatrics, 121(Supplement 4), pp.’ s252-S272.